Joseph Kelly loses WRC holiday pay and leave claims

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Joseph Kelly lost his claims for retrospective pay and holiday entitlements after the Workplace Relations Commission ruled it lacked jurisdiction, in a decision reported on 17 August 2025. The complaints concerned his former employment status at RTÉ.

Kelly said he had been required to register as a contractor when he began working for RTÉ in 2012, and sought compensation for lost annual leave, sick leave, public holiday and Sunday pay entitlements. RTÉ argued the claims were outside the statutory time limit and said he had received his annual leave and public holiday entitlements.

Adjudicator John Harraghy said the complaints related to employment status up to November 2018 and that he could consider only claims submitted within the statutory timeframe. He concluded the WRC had no jurisdiction to consider Kelly’s complaints.